Search

The main findings of the article are the narratives of the people suffering from epilepsy can follow common "plots"; they have a starting point, cause, and the ongoing struggle with their condition and looking for a treatment/ cure. The narratives are given by the subjects, and can be interpreted differently by each reader. The actual patient experience of illness is subjective and can have social, cultural, and religious aspects tied to them.

The article addresses the public health inequities caused by for-profit ambulance agencies, which can put low-income families in a worse situation when they bill outrageously and/or sue their patients after sometimes providing sub-par or negligent treatment. Also shows the poor examples of emergency response when first responders are delayed due to understaffing or don't have the drugs/ equipment to adequately treat patients ("hospital shopping" done by desparate ambulance agencies). 

Looking on Google, this article has been referenced by a University of Washington anthropology professor (http://www.washington.edu/omad/ctcenter/projects-common-book/mountains-…) and in the book "Viral Mothers: Breastfeeding in the Age of HIV/AIDS".

The report was published by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), an independent, international medical humanitarian organization. They provide aid and high quality medical care to populations in locations of conflict, disease outbreak, and natural disasters. 

The program provides an undergraduate degree or graduate certificate.

The study looks at the physical and mental health profiles of prisoners, and incarceration as both a health risk and health opportunity. This seems like a new way of studying the issue, as I've heard of studies only looking at the race of prisoners in the U.S. 

Ethnographic research, archival and field work in the affected countries over several years, data cited from other research articles, and collaborated with scientists in atomic energy/ radiation.

The main findings in this article is the phenomenon of "biological citizenship" that occurred in the Ukraine after the Chernobyl disaster, how "scientific cooperation and political management" developed, and how sociopolitical factors affect the course of health and disease in a country. 

The parts of the film that I found most persuasive and compelling were Atul Gawande's personal experience. As both a surgeon and son, he has the unique viewpoint of being the one to be the bearer of bad news and be the one to accept his father's mortality as his cancer progressed. Gawande gives rational and emotional parts of end-of-life care, and is able to learn new ways of handling mortality as a healthcare provider and a human.